T was only very recently that began a thought-provoking series on how to plan for retirement. One of the newspaper articles told us that the five biggest mistakes that people tend to make in retirement planning are:

1. Don't save enough.

2. Don't keep a large enough emergency fund.

3. Don't diversify investments.

4. Don't put enough aside for medical care.

5. Don't have instructions about health care and other issues.

We suspect that Bermuda is no different.

However, we have to also recognise that there are seniors among us who never had the luxury to even contemplate any of the items on the above list, much less the funds to act on them.

But the cost of health care in our old age is something that should concern us all.

It's a challenge now and it's a challenge that seems to be growing and not diminishing. All the indicators point in the wrong direction.

Health care costs are soaring. Literally.

In the United States, according to the same article in , employers are seen to be cutting health care benefits as costs rise. Experts there are now predicting that the average 65-year-old couple will likely have to dig into their own pockets and pay the following sums to help fund the cost of their health care:

$160,000 if they retired in 2002.

$190,000 if they retired in 2005.

$200,000 if they retire this year.

The challenges in health care for seniors in Bermuda could become just as great. There are some issues now for seniors which are not being addressed.

We know from the Government report, , that in the year 2000 there were 2,411 seniors with just basic medical insurance (which includes the Bermuda Government's Hospital Insurance Plan) and just over 300 without any insurance at all.

That was six years ago ? and the cost of insurance has been rising steadily since. We believe there are even more seniors today without medical insurance. Of the 2,411 with basic insurance, 1,734 are black Bermudians; of the 307 without any insurance at all, 234 are black.

A proposed $150-a-year increase in free prescription drugs for seniors simply ignores the real problem.

Again, we turn to the Government's own report:

"In 2004, households headed by seniors spent $6,000 per year on health care, up from $3,000 in 1993. Nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) of that expenditure was comprised of health insurance. Seniors spent just over $900 on prescriptions and medicinal drugs in 2004, up from $300 in 1993. This represented 17 per cent of their health-care expenditure."

The real problem is the rising cost of health care ? even for those who are insured. Our seniors are in the trenches on the front line of this problem.

The survey results from tell us that:

Twenty-eight per cent of younger seniors and 39 per cent of older seniors think that their health insurance is not adequate for doctors' visits or medication coverage.

Sixty-nine per cent of younger seniors and 66 per cent of older seniors are worried about their ability to mange their health problems.

There needs to be some changes in health coverage for our seniors ? and to this end this is where Government needs to focus and funds need to be directed. Currently, HIP only covers two doctor visits per year. This can be used up in a couple of days. The number has to be increased.

The UBP also continues to stand by its call first made in our 2003 election platform, namely:

The introduction of a senior healthcare clinic to provide free preventive and basic care to seniors without coverage or whose insurance limits doctors' visits; and

Free prescription drugs and eyeglasses for seniors who cannot afford them.

These are steps which can and should be taken immediately. But we suspect that even that may not be enough for the action plan that is required.

For the long-term solution, we may need to pursue the development of medical pension plans ? which also featured in the 2003 UBP election manifesto ? or health savings accounts as they are known in the United States.

While many of us might tend to think that our cost of living will go down when we retire, the fact of the matter is that when it comes to health care, our cost of living is likely to go up if present trends continue and are not arrested.

Again we can turn to the findings of the Government-produced report, which reports as follows:

"Improvements in lifestyles, technology, medicine and education have all resulted in increased longevity. As people live longer, they will inevitably face more illnesses and disabilities, which will increase the demand for health products and services. In 2003, the health sector accounted for 4.1 per cent of Bermuda's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is higher than the 3.7 per cent measured in 1996. In other words, the health sector produced a total value of goods and services valued at roughly $164 million in 2003 compared to $100 million in 1996."

The upward trend continues.

Seniors' concern for their health continues too ? as they live longer.

From the same report:

"Bermuda's 2000 Census captured benchmark data on long-term health conditions of the population aged 65 and over, irrespective of whether the condition affected the activities of daily living. A total of 3,293 seniors reported a physical or mental condition in 2000. The most commonly self-reported conditions were: high blood pressure, arthritis, diabetes, heart condition, impaired vision and mobility difficulties".

There was also these startling findings:

"During the last decade, the incidence of high blood pressure climbed by 22 per cent. The number of blacks reporting this condition grew nearly five times faster than the number of whites. Similarly, the number of cases of diabetes increased ten per cent. Its occurrence than the number of whites. SImilarly, the number of cases of diabetes increased ten per cent. Its occurrence among black seniors rose 14 per cent, seven times the rate of increase recorded by the white population.

"Significant increases were also noted among people reporting heart conditions. The increase in the occurrence of heart disease was also twice as great in the black community as in any other racial group (11 per cent of black versus six per cent of white)."

With incidence rates such as these, we know where we as a Government would focus our attention and our resources.

We also think the key here is that seniors know their problems better than we do. They live with them and come against them daily. This is why we believe in a Silver Revolution which would see the establishment of a Seniors' Advocate, someone who can serve as both Ombudsman and spokesman for our seniors on the many issues which they often have to confront whether legal or medical, private or public; someone who can and will take up their causes, both individual and collective, to ensure that their voices are heard and acted upon.

We would look to have the office established independent of Government, possibly affiliated and attached to one of the existing helping agencies, but funded by Government in part if necessary, but mostly by private means. We see the establishment of a Seniors Advocate as a most worthwhile and productive endeavour.

One of the most pressing problems for seniors is the expense of prescriptions. We have already talked about the chronic diseases seniors suffer from such as diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis and heart disease. Most seniors will have to take medication for these diseases for the rest of the lives.

For many years physicians would give seniors prescriptions for one full year. Now many doctors instruct the pharmacy to renew four times a year. Patients pay about $20 for each prescription to the pharmacy and $10 to the doctor for faxing the prescription to the pharmacy. This can cost seniors hundreds of dollars more for prescriptions.

Diabetes patients are particularly affected as they need needles, test strips, insulin, medications, etc. These meds were available for diabetics at a pharmacy at the TB & Cancer Centre at reduced rates, with a trained pharmacist who would give them advice on their medications. Unfortunately, this facility is closed. Diabetics must now go to several pharmacies to get their medications.

They pay full price and often without advice on medications. The Diabetes Association is now desperately looking for a facility to reopen a pharmacy. One diabetic is spending $5,719.32 on her medications. Many seniors cannot afford this. Remember, a majority of our seniors have an annual income of under $30,000.

Here are a few examples of seniors in crisis who have been to Government departments and have received no help.

A senior who lives on $12,000 who is living in a cottage in a very upscale area of Bermuda has been trying desperately to get legal aid. She is living in a cottage that is falling apart, with leaks, a contaminated tank and windows and roof falling apart. She needs the owners to repair the property and has gone to Legal Aid. They have refused her.

Another senior has paid out most of her savings to a contractor who was supposed to renovate her house and road. The contractor has not finished her job and a lawyer who has been given a substantial sum has not been able to resolve her problem.

Another senior has given her child her house and moved into an adjoining apartment. Her child has now taken the mother's savings and is threatening to evict her from her own house.

A senior is being beaten by relatives. Neighbours and friends are afraid to call the authorities.

A Bermudian who will be a senior soon needs medication for cancer. It is very expensive medication and he has had to mortgage his house.

These are just a few sorry examples of seniors in crisis in Bermuda.

The United Bermuda party believes that our seniors have given and sacrificed to build the Bermuda that each of us enjoy today. The least we can do is guarantee that their golden years are free from fear; free from want, free from neglect and free from abuse. Will you work with us to make that a reality?